Next, 2022 Fern Hollow Bridge CollapsePittsburgh officials said they are stepping up efforts to prevent history from repeating itself.
“We recognize that these bridges have not been given enough attention in the past, and they need better treatment,” said Olga George, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. Ta. “We're making sure they get the attention they need so we don't wake up to another Fern Hollow Bridge collapse.”
Oakland's Panther Hollow Bridge was closed on October 19 for maintenance following an inspection. Although a planned reopening date for the bridge has not been set, the inspection is one of many precautions the City of Pittsburgh is taking to prioritize bridge infrastructure.
The closure of the Panther Hollow Bridge was reported by the inspection consultant responsible for periodic inspections of the bridge. Engineers were performing a load rating analysis to assess the bridge's capacity to support the weight of vehicles, taking into account the bridge's current condition, such as rust and deterioration. This analysis raised concerns as the calculated numbers did not meet safety expectations, prompting further scrutiny and caution.
When a decision is made, such as closing a bridge, the City of Pittsburgh works with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to ensure bridge inspections meet safety standards.
“Together we have decided to close the bridge and they are still making these calculations. But to ensure safety until they have refined and completed the calculations, we have decided to close the bridge now.” Eric Setzler, chief engineer of the City of Pittsburgh's Mobility and Infrastructure Authority.
Andrea Boykowicz, executive director of the Auckland Planning and Development Corporation, highlighted how the bridge closure will impact access to the community.
“There are limits to what (the city) can do with these bridges, but we need them to understand the consequences of closures and diversions in terms of how kids get to school and where people can go.”Playgrounds Walk to,” Boykowicz said. “We provide an opportunity for the city to educate residents and interact directly through meetings.”
After the Panther Hollow Bridge closed, traffic became more complicated as the Charles Anderson Bridge was already under construction and there was a limited amount of roads to choose from.
“We certainly understand this is a huge inconvenience for people trying to get around, but unfortunately there's not much we can do. We have to put safety first, which is why we closed. ” Setzler said. “We've put up detour signs to help people who don't know about the closure. We made sure to report it to Google Maps so people aren't directed over that bridge over and over again.”
There is currently no set date for when the bridge will reopen as inspections and calculations are ongoing. Setzler said the bridge will be reopened “in the near future.”
“It will take several more weeks for their calculations to be completed. At that point, we will know based on their final calculations what exactly needs to be corrected and by how much, or “We need to evaluate what the course of action is,” Setzler said. Said.
George said the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse alerted the city to pay more attention to bridge safety.
“When the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, Mayor Gainey had just taken office,” George said. “And one of the things he said is to make sure it never happens again that we don't get a call saying a bridge has collapsed in the city of Pittsburgh.”
Setzler said the city has since focused more resources and funding on bridge safety.
“When it comes to safety measures, we have a lot of systems built into our bridge inspection program,” Setzler said. “If a serious situation is flagged at the site, it is reported to us as the owner of the bridge and, depending on its severity, we have to deal with it within a certain period of time, which can be up to two years, or in some cases It could be two years.'' It could be six months, it could be a week, it could be right away. ”
To keep the city's bridges safe, the city has introduced new technology and systems.
“We have launched a comprehensive effort.” asset management program On our bridges, we take all the data from bridge inspections and put it into our management system,” Setzler said. “This is useful for both tracking maintenance needs and tracking the types of small tasks that need to be performed on an ongoing basis.”
Mayor Gainey also said: Bridge Maintenance Management DivisionGeorge said he is responsible for bridge reviews and site inspections.
“We're doing thorough checks on bridges in the city to make sure it doesn't happen again, which is one of the reasons the Panther Hollow Bridge was closed,” George said.
Looking ahead, Setzler said the city is planning further restoration and replacement projects.
“There are a number of large bridge projects currently in the design stage,” Setzler said. “But we're going to see a lot of bridges under construction over the next couple of years as some of these other projects move forward in design.”
